Railway hopper car



July 25, 1939- A. A. JoHNsoN RAILWAY HOPPER CAR Filed April l2, 1957 44 Sheets-Sheet 1 N. QN 0R X m MM I lV/T/VESS.' ).vm

July 25, 1939- A. A. JoHNsoN RAILWAY HOPPER CAR Filed April 12. 19:57

4 Sheets-Sheet- 2 .A255197- A JOHNSON l INVENTOR.

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July 25, 1939. A. A. JOHNSON vRAILWAY HOPPER GAR 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 12, 1937 Nl TNESSJ ORNEYS,

4July 25, 1939. A. A. JOHNSON RAILWAY HOPPER CAR mw MQ R.

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N/ TNESS ATTORNEYSl Patented July 25, 1939 PATENTv OFFICE RAILWAY HOPPER CAR Albert A. Johnson,

Application April 12,

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in rail- Way cars, and more particularly to a railway hopper car for the expeditious and economic transporting and handling of loose. citrus fruit or the like from its geographical location. of growth to distant places of distribution and consumption.

It is the general practice in the transporting of citrus fruits and other similar edibles to hand pack the same in crates at the location o-f their growth, manually stack the crates in refrigerator cars for shipment, and manually unload the crates at their point of destination. Such method of packing, car loading and unloading is costly, due to the cost of packing materials, manual labor involved in handling, and demurrage charges by the railroadsv for any excessive time required in the use of a car which may be caused by the lessee during loading and unloading operations. It is therefore the purpose of this invention to overcome this economic problem, and which is accomplished by reason of the novel features in refrigerator car construction fand unloading means therefor which enables the handling and shipment of citrus fruits in' loose condition in carload lots without injury to the fruit so handled and shipped.

Another feature of theinvention resides in apparatus of theV above mentioned kind which en- 30 ables the shipment of carload lots of ripe or nearly ripe citrus fruit, rather than unripened, due to the fact that less time is required in the shipment of the fruit from its source of growth to its terminal of distribution and sale in smaller lots.

While I have set forth above the broad aspect of the features of my invention, other features appear in the following specification, pointed out in the appended claims, and illustrated in the ac'- companying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my improved refrigerator railway car coupled with the unloading apparatus.

Figure 2.y is a horizontal sectional view on the line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional View on the line 3 3 of Figure 2, but showing the closure plates closing the fruit discharge outlet and the loading apparatus disconnected therefrom. n

Figure 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view on the line 4 4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view through the refrigerator car eX- 55v tending from one end to a point slightly beyond Kew Gardens, N. Y.

1937, Serial No. 136,257

the mid portion thereof, the parts being in positionfor loading of the car.

Figure 6 is a vertical transverse sectional view on the line 6 6 of Figure 5. Y

Figure '7 is a detail horizontal sectional View on the line 'I 'I of Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a detail vertical sectional view through a modified form of hopper drive.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view on the line 9 9 of Figure 8.

While I shall proceed with the -description of my invention fo-r use in the shipment of citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits and lemons, I wish it to be understood that the apparatus about to be described may be employed in the handling and shipment of other loose articles by carload lots.

Referring to the drawings by reference characters, the numeral I0 designates my improved refrigerator railway car in its entirety, which includes a box like body II having insulated side wallsl I2 I2, insulated end walls I3 I3, an insulated bottom wall I4 and an insulated top wall I5. 'Ihe opposite ends of the car body II are provided with spaced vertical partitions I6 which divide the main inner compartment of the body from regrigerator compartments I'I at the ends of the body into which the cooling medium such as ice, for the cooling of the body is adapted to be located. lThe side walls I2 I 2 of the car body are provided with the usual door openings I 8 I 8, the same being located centrally of the length of `the car body, which door openings are closed b-y planks I9 preparatory to the vloading of the body. The plank 20 bridging each door opening I8 approximately midway of the same is fixed across the door opening for a purpose to be presently explained, whereas the other planks designated I9 are removable for permitting ingress and egress to the interior of the car body when empty or when partially empty. Whereas, I have not illustrated the usual refrigerator door for closing the door openings I8 I8, it will be understood that the carwill be provided therewith to effectively seal the openings against entry of heated air into the car body.

The central portion of the bottom wall I4 of the car body is provided with a well 2 I, the bottom wall of the said well being provided with an opening 22 and bolted to the well bottom. and depending therefrom is a short length discharge spout 23, the lower end being provided with a flange 24 for removably supporting a closure plate 25, the said plate being provided with a pair of hook lugs 26 for engagement with the body ll flange 24 and with a slot 21 extending inwardly from its periphery for receiving a pivoted bolt 23, the said bolt being carried by the spout and having a clamping nut 36 thereon for securing the closure plate in position over the lower end of the discharge spout 23. It will be appreciated that the closure plate 25 may be removed by loosening the nut 36, swinging the bolt 28 out of the slot 2 and then disengaging the hooked lugs 26 from the flange 24.

Fixedly mounted in the Well 2l is an annular casing 3|, the same being concentric with respect to the discharge opening Rotatably mounted Within the casing 3l by means of roller bearings 32 is an annular hopper 33, the open" topof which supports a removable grate `disk 34 se-, cured to the top of the hopper by removable bolts or screws 35. The grate disk 34 is provided withb annular rows of staggered openings 3 6, which openings are of a size to permit of the free passage of the individual articles of fruit which are to be shipped in the car. The grate-is made removable in order that aV grate with relatively large openings may be provided forv the passage of grapefruit therethrough, Ymedium'size openings for oranges, and smaller openings in the event that the car is to beused for the shipment of lemons. The central portion of the grate disk 34 is provided with a crown 3l, the top of which is on a plane approximately, with the plane of the peripheral edge of the grate disk, the grate disk being inclined outwardly from aV pointadjacent the crown in order that fruit rolling onto the grate disk will gravitate toward the-annular series of staggered openings 36. The hopper 33 is provided with an integral collar 38 having an annular groove or channel 39 in its peripheral edge for the reception of a cable 46, which cable is adapted to be extended through one side of the car body with its ends connected so as to constitute a belt, which may be connected up With a driving pulley or actuated by hand power to impart rotation to the hopper 36 duringA an unloading operation as will beclearly described hereinafter.

For the purpose of guiding and protecting the fruit from injury as it passes from the hopper 33 to the discharge spout 23, there is provided rubber or other yieldable fingers 4l at .the discharge outlet of the hopper, the said ngersbeing arranged in radial formation.- These fingers prevent butting contact of fruit rolling down the hopper from opposite sides, as such contact may cause injury to the fruit. The interior of the car is provided with inclined perforated iiooring 42 which is spaced from the bottom wallv I4 and which iiooring is provided with a central opening 43 of a size approximating the -diameter of the hopper 33 and disposed in concentric relation thereto. The flooring 42 is Vinclined away from the opening 43, and the angle of inclination is such that articles supported by the flooring 42 Will gravitate toward the opening 43 for passage through the hopper 33. The inclined flooring 42 at the opening 43 is slightly abovevthe plane of the top of the hopper 33 and interposed therebetween .for slidingmovement to a position to close the Vopening 43 Vis a pair of opposed closure .platesY 44-44. VEach lclosure plate 44 is of identical construction and actuated by a likeV mechanism. and'each is adapted to overliel one half of the discharge outlet 43 when Vthe closure plates are Vin closing position with the stoplugs H4 carried thereby abutting a xed stop H5. Wheninopen position, the plates 44 VAconcealed by removable plates 5|.

are disposed clear of the opening 43 as illustrated in full lines in Fig. 4 of the drawings. Each plate 44 is slidably mounted in guide tracks 45 provided on the under side of the oor 42 and carried by the outer side of the plate adjacent opposite side edges thereof are rack bars 46, the teeth of which mesh with pinions 41 xed to a shaft 48 which extends transversely of the car body and is journaled in bearings 49 carried by the `side walls |2-l2. The ends of the shaft 48 terminate in recesses 50 provided in the side walls l2, the recesses being normally covered and The ends of the shaft 48 are squared as at 52 so that when the Aplates 56 are removed as shown in Figure 4 of the drawing, a crank handle 53 may be applied to either of the squared ends 52 and manual j rotation can be imparted to the shaft 48 causing rotation of the pinion 4l and thus impart sliding movement to the closure plate 44 to either open or closed position.- When the car body is loaded with fruit, the plates 44 are in closedvposition and prior to the unloading operation, the same are manually moved to open position in order to expose the perforated grate 34 to the contents of the car body. An abutment 54 disposed in the path of the outer end of each closure plate 44 serves to limit the opening movement of the closure plates, while closing movement of the plates is limited by contacting engagement of the stops H4 on inner ends of the said plates with the-fixed stop II5 as illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings.

The interior of the car body ll is divided by a horizontal partition which divi-des the interior ofthe car body intol a lower storage compartment 55 and an upper storage compartment 56. The horizontal partition is made up of two half units, each unit being disposed at opposite sides of the door opening I8. Each unit is composed of spaced trap doors 5l, there being three of such doors embodied in each unit and which are disposed in spaced relation and pivoted on the same plane as at 58. Also pivoted on-substantially the same plane as the trapl doors 58 is one central door 59 and a similar door 65 disposed intermediate the central .door 59 and the end wall of the car body. These doors are adapted to be raised to the position shown in Figure 5 during a loading operation of the lower coml ing 6| down through the upper compartment 56 and into the lower compartment 55 vduring a loading of the lower compartment. When the lower compartment has been lled, the hose 62 are lifted, the doors 59 and 60 closed, an-d the discharge end of the hose left in the upper compartment 56 will effect a filling of the upper compartment. When the car is completely lled, and the hose 62 vwithdrawn from the openings 6l hatch doors l l 6 are applied over the openings as illustrated in Figure 2. When the doors 59 and 63 are in closed position, they rest upon cleats 63 and 64 respectively, the cleats 63 being secured to the xed plank 20 and the cleats 64 to opposite side walls l2-I2 of the car body, The doors 59 and 60 are of inverted V-shape in cross section to cause articles to gravitate thereover during the dumping of the contents from the upper compartment 56 to the lower compartment 55.

Fixed inclined partition sections 65 bridge the space between the trap doors 51 and between each end trap door 51 and end wall of the body and coacts With the trap doors, and doors 59 to provide a continuous partition structure as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 of the drawings. The trap doors 51 of each half Ypartition unit are simultaneously operated to open and closed positions by a mechanism now to be explained. The doors 51 and 60 and fixed partition sections 65 have openings |26 therein for cooling and ventilating purposes between" the lower compartment 55 and the upper compartment 56.

Journaled in bearings 66 which are secured to the inner side walls I2 within the compartment 55 is a slidable rod 61, while pivotally connected at 68 to the rod 61 are the lower ends of links 69, the opposite ends of the links being pivotally connected to the free ends of the respective pivoted trap doors 51 as at 10. The rod 61 is provided with a rack bar 1| vand in view of the fact that two rods 61 are disposed adjacent the respective side walls |2-I2 and each being provided with a rack bar 1I, I provide a pair of pinions 12 meshing with the respective rack bars as illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings in order that both racks move simultaneously in the same direction. The pinions 12 are xedly carried by transversely disposed shafts 13 journaled in bearings carried by the side walls I2-I2 of the car body. The ends of the shaft 13 are squared and are disposed in recesses 14 provided in the outer sides of the side walls I 2-|2, the recesses being normally closed by removable closure plates 15. When it is desired to operate the v trap door actuating mechanism, the closure plates 15 are removed and a crank similar to the crank 53 is applied to either of the squared ends of the shaft 13 and rotation imparted to the shaft, which causes the pinions 12 to actuate the rack bars 1I and impart sliding movement to the rod 61 in either of two directions. By sliding the rod 61 in one direction, the doors 51 will l be pulled down to the dotted position shown in Figure 5 in order that the load in the upper compartment 56 may be emptied in the lower compartment 55. When in a lowered open position as shown in dotted lines in Figure 5, the trap doors 51 act as inclined extensions for the adjacent stationary partition sections 65. By sliding the rods 61 in an opposite direction, it will be seen that the trap doors 51 may be raised to closed position, as illustrated in full lines in Figure 5 of the drawings.

By providing a horizontal dividing partition within the car body, it is possible to relieve the weight of the load upon the articles of fruit stored in the lower half of the car body, but during unloading operations, it will be seen that after the lower compartment 55 has been partially or fully emptied, the trap doors 51 may be opened to dump the load from the upper compartment 56 into the lower compartment 55 from where the load gravitates toward the discharge opening 43.

For the purpose of cooling the compartments 56 and 55, the partition walls I6 adjacent the ends of the car body are provided with openings 16 which enable cool air from the cooling chambers I1 to enter the respective compartments 55 and 56. Also, by reference to Figure 5 of the drawings, it will be noted that an opening 11 is also provided in the partitions I6 to enable cool air to pass from the compartment I1 into the space between the flooring 42 and the bottom wall i4 of the car body in order to cool the load from beneath, and permit circulation of cool air up through the perforations in the flooring 42.

After a refrigerator oar constructed in accordance with the construction just described has been' loaded with citrus fruits such as oranges, grape fruit, or lemons, it is transported over rail to its point of destination and when reaching such desination, there is provided unloading apparatus now to be described.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings there is shown an unloading station which includes an underground compartment 18 having a concrete roof I9 which forms part of the road bed of a railroad track 80 laid along the surface of the ground. It will be understood that if the track 8|) is arranged on an elevated structure, there will be no necessity for providing an underground Assume that a coupling is tol be made between' the outlet spout 23 of the car and the unloading tube 90 of the unloading apparatus and it is desired to unload the contents of the railway car I6. An attendant first removes the closure plate 25 after which he removes the plates 5| from one side of the car to gain access to the squared ends 52 of the shaft 58. A crank is applied to the squared ends of the shaft 48 and the shaft rotated to cause the pinions 41 acting on the rack bars 46 to move the slide closure plates 44 from closed position to open position, thus exposing the perforated grate disk 34 to the contents of the lower compartment 55 of the car. The contents, be they oranges, grapefruits, or lemens, will gravitate through the openings 36 in the grate 34 and to prevent clogging', rotation is imparted to the grate through the hopper 33 by means of the endless driven cable 39. The fruit after passing through the openings 36 enters the hopper 33, passes down through the outlet spout 23 into the unloading tube 99 and out through the lower discharge end thereof where it is received in a portable receptable placed therebeneath. This unloading kcontinues until the entire or partial contents of the lower compartment 55 has been emptied, after which cranks may be applied to the squared ends of the shafts 13 and the trap door actuating mechanism operated to cause the trap doors 51 to swing down in order to dump the load contained within the upper compartment 56 into the lower compartment 55, thus continuing the flow of fruit through the unloading tube 96 until the entire contents of the car have been discharged.

After the completion of the unloading operation the unloading tube is disconnected from the discharge spout 23, the cover plate 25 which was previously removed from the discharge spout 23,

bearings ||9 therein. A rotating hopper |20 is supported upon the ball bearings I I9 and is provided with an annular ball race groove |2| for receiving the said ball bearings. Fixed to the lower outlet end of the hopper is a ring gear |22 which has constant mesh with a worm |23 xed to a driven rotatable shaft |24. The shaft |24 is mounted in bearings |25 which may be mounted on the car bottom Il, While one end of the shaft is adapted to extend beyond one side of the Car to be connected with a source of power (not shown) for driving the same.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have provided a refrigerator railway car which will enable the transportation of citrus fruits in bulk Without injury to the fruit either during loading, in transit, or during unloading, thus eliminating the present practice of initially crating the fruit, packing the crates in cars by manual labor and manually removing the same at their point of destination. The system which I have described and shown in the drawing not only reduces the cost of shipment of citrus fruits or like articles, but permits of the shipment of the fruits in ripe or near ripe condition, due to the expeditious method of unloading of the car at its point of destination. Also, a greater volume of fruit may be shipped in my improved car than in the ordinary refrigerator car of like Size, due to the elimination of waste space taken up by crates and spaces therebetween.

While I have shown and described what I consider to be the most practical embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that such changes and alterations as come within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to if desired.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A railway car for the shipment of individual units in loose condition comprising a car body having a discharge opening in the bottom thereof, Iiooring inclined upwardly from said discharge opening, a rotatable grate mounted in said discharge opening and having grate openings therein of a size to admit of the free passage of individual units therethrough, means operable for imparting rotation to said grate, and slide closure means operable eXteriorly of said car body for closing 'said discharge opening to shut off the ow of units to said grate.

2. A railway car for the shipment of individual units in loose condition comprising a car body having a discharge opening in the bottom thereof, flooring inclined upwardly from said discharge opening, a rotatable grate Vmounted in said discharge opening and having grate openings therein of a size to admit of the free passage of individualunits therethrough, means operable for imparting rotation to said grate, a hopper disposed beneath said grate to receive the units passing through said grate openings said hopper having a central outlet, a discharge pipe depending from the bottom of said body and communicating with the outlet of said hopper, and flexible guide members extending inwardly from the walls of the outlet of said hopper and freely terminating adjacent the axis of the said outlet.

3. A railway car for the shipment of individual units in loose condition comprising a car body having a discharge opening in the bottom thereof, flooring inclined upwardly from said discharge opening, a hopper rotatably mounted in said discharge opening, a substantially dish shape grate member secured to and overlying the open top of said hopper and having grate openings therein of a predetermined size to permit of the free passage of individual units therethrough, means for imparting rotation to said hopper, and slide closure means manually operable from the exterior of said car body for closing said discharge opening.

4. A railway car for shipment of individual units in loose condition compriisng in combination, a car body having a discharge opening in the bottom thereof, an annular hopper member cal alinement with said opening, means for rotatably supporting said hopper member, means for imparting rotation to said hopper member, slide closure means being mounted for operation on a plane intermediate the bottom of said body and the top of said hopper member, and rack and pinion means manually operable from the eX- terior of said car body for moving saidslide closure means to open position clear of said discharge opening and to closed position beneath said discharge opening.

ALBERT A. JOHNSON.

Y having its open top disposed below and in vertiv 

